tupelo honey
by in colors
Summary: the three times he hesitated, and the one time he didn't.


_o the three times he hesitated, and the one time he didn't. o_

_enjoy!_

* * *

-one-

"So," Sarah sips her double-shot espresso mocha from Starbucks as they sit on the couch in his living room, watching TV. "You really have no plans for us tonight?"

"Well," Ethan gestures to the show playing, "We can watch a movie? Since there's no Jane to bother us, or Benny to, well, be Benny."

She continues to sip her coffee, giving a, _well, that's true_ shrug. She motions for the remote and proceeds to flip through channels once Ethan hands it to her.

"Should I make popcorn?"

"Go for it."

Ethan stands abruptly and heads to the kitchen. Why is he so nervous? He wonders. Has Sarah noticed? Peeking back to the vampire on the couch, sat comfortably as if it were her own home, she doesn't even seem to notice. Or care, for that matter. Ethan takes a deep breath and returns to the task at hand – popcorn.

He stands in front of the microwave, watching the popcorn burst to life in the enclosed heat. Why won't his heart stop racing? From his peripheral, he sees Sarah now leaning her head on the back of the couch, still searching for something.

He's alone with Sarah – big deal, he's alone with her _at least _once a week. So, what's different tonight? The timer for the microwave goes off, which suddenly snaps him out of his thoughts. Sarah calls out, "Hurry, Ethan! I found something good."

"Be right there!"

Ethan grabs a bowl and pours the contents of the bag into it. Tossing the bag out, he shuffles to the living room and sits down beside Sarah, closer than before, and nestles the bowl in-between them. She reaches for a popcorn the same moment he does, which causes their hands to collide.

"Oops," she chuckles, "sorry."

Little does she know the action sends billows of heat through him. "It's okay. Enjoy. It's extra butter."

Her hand dives back in and he waits until she's chewing to finally reach for some. Her eyes are trained on the TV, where a romantic, cliché scene plays out. From the corner of his eye, he watches her. How concentrated her gaze is, how soft her breathing is, how utterly and completely beautiful she looks pinned against dim lighting.

Everything about her is just amazing.

He fully looks at her and opens his mouth.

"I-"

A phone rings. Sarah's phone.

Unaware he was even about to speak, Sarah reaches for it and answers without bothering to check the ID. From the voice on the other line, he takes a guess at who's calling her.

"No, I'm busy right now. Currently with Ethan." She looks at him and smiles. He smiles back, but it's full of disappointment. "I can call you back later? Okay, bye."

"Erica?"

"As always. Guess she wanted to go into town and hunt."

"Ah," Ethan nods. His eyes are now on the TV; though he's not _that _interested in it, it beats having to live with the weird, sad feeling piling in his chest.

"Anyways," Sarah pokes his arm. "Erica's ringing cut you off. What were you going to say?"

So, she _had _heard. Ethan fumbles with excuses in his head before blurting, "I-I really like this movie! Haha."

"Right," Sarah slowly nods, smiling. She drinks some more coffee. "Cool, yeah. This movie's good – a classic, really. I've always enjoyed the lead actor's movies. Especially the romantic ones. He makes them seem especially beautiful."

"Yeah," Ethan agrees, though it's his first time ever seeing that person. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I hope it's not _too _cheesy for you or something. We can find something else to watch, if that's the case."

"No, no. I'm okay. It's not or anything. I mean, I can handle it."

As soon as the words leave his mouth, a part where the man utters a cliché line causes Ethan to cringe. Sarah, who is still looking at him, laughs.

"Okay," she says in-between giggles, "I think I should change the station. It's more than cheesy for you, it seems."

"No, really," Ethan places his hand over hers to stop her from using the remote. "Seriously, I'm okay. If it's what you want to watch, then I don't mind."

"Well," Sarah calms down. "As long as you're certain."

He smiles, and she smiles back. His heart still races for the remainder of the movie, but he doesn't dare speak again until it's near the end and his parents walk in. From there, he says his goodbyes to Sarah, hugs her, and watches her leave.

-o-

-two-

After accompanying the vampires on a relatively easy mission issued by the Council, along with Benny, the five of them find themselves enjoying a late-night dinner at the local diner.

"I'm _stuffed_," Benny belches, acquiring groans of disgust from the girls and thumbs-up approval from the guys. "You guys, seriously, we should treat ourselves like this on every mission."

"Speak for yourself, pig," Erica crinkles her nose. "The only reason we're even here is because Rory found a fifty and he's too dumb to know how to spend it on himself."

Rory shrugs his shoulders as he continues to eat. Ethan peeks glances at Sarah, who focuses on finishing her French fries. When she does look up, he is quick to adjust his gaze.

"Anyways, I think I should get going."

Erica stands and so does Rory. "I'll go with you, my love!"

"_Don't _call me that, unless you'd like to regrow teeth while you sleep tonight."

"Aw, Erica," Benny licks leftover sauce from the plate. "Don't be mean to Rory. After all, he _did _pay for this gourmet meal."

Erica rolls her eyes and scoffs. "Benny, losers like you don't know what a gourmet meal _is_, so I'll do me, okay?"

She exits the building as Rory follows behind closely. With the three of them left, Benny begins talking about spells that he's working on. Sarah, in the meantime, finishes her meal and pushes it aside. Ethan, leaned back in his seat, continues to steal glances from her.

"Are either of you even listening to me?" Benny cuts himself off with a pout. Glancing between his two best friends, he continues, "So you're both just going to leave me hanging?"

"Sorry, Benny," Sarah sniffs as she rubs her arms. "It's been a long day so I'm a little tired."

"Yeah," Ethan echoes, "me, too. Tell us about your spells some other time, yeah?"

Sarah looks at Ethan the same moment he looks at her, but he quickly adverts his eyes. Benny raises an eyebrow but doesn't comment on it, instead choosing to say, "Fine! I'll just take my imperfected spells and _go_."

He leaves abruptly; Ethan and Sarah are left alone in the empty diner. She offers a smile and Ethan returns one, but the nerves in his stomach cut it short.

"What's up?" She takes a large gulp of her water while keeping her eyes on the boy. "You've been pretty quiet today, which is odd and just about impossible when you're with Benny and the others."

"Nothing really," Ethan mumbles. He plays with the straw in his drink, twirling and twisting it. "Today wore me out, I guess."

"Really?"

He looks up to her raised eyebrow. Nervously, he nods and lowers his gaze.

"Ethan, you know I don't believe that. So if there's something bothering you, tell me. I'm here to help you."

"Well," he inhales deeply and thinks, an empty diner isn't the _best _place to confess, but they're alone and he feels as though he can do it. So he forces himself to meet her eye. "You're right, that's not true."

"So?" Sarah leans forward, silently urging him to continue. "What's going on?"

"I _really_ –"

Without any real reason, he cuts himself off. Sarah leans forward further in suspense, but Ethan can't bring himself to say anything.

"You _really_ what?"

"I, uh, _really_ need to use the bathroom."

He excuses himself with a meek nod to the direction of the bathroom and all but rushes to it, leaving Sarah still leaned over to his side of the table, confusion distorting her features. When he gets into a stall, he sighs deeply and lets the nerves that had rushed through him run their course. His hands tremble and he can barely breathe.

Why can't he just _say _it? It's Sarah. Sarah, the girl he's been so in love with for a while now – the girl he seriously can't imagine never speaking to again. Is it fear of rejection, both romantically and maybe platonically? Sarah's not that type of person and he knows that. He's even imagined many nights telling her. So why can't he bear the thought when a chance presents itself?

With another deep inhale and exhale, he exits the stall and heads back. Surprisingly, Sarah's still there. She smiles at him and asks, "Feel better now?"

"Much," he chuckles weakly.

"Cool." She slips out of her chair and stands. "Let's go, yeah? It's getting late and I don't want your parents to worry."

"Sure."

They head out into the night, walking the short distance home in silence aside from the sounds of crickets chirping and occasional cars passing. When they arrive in front of Ethan's house, they hug goodnight. Ethan watches from the porch as Sarah disappears into the dark, the night sky burying her.

-o-

-three-

Sitting on the steps of the winding staircase leading up to the second floor, Sarah has her eyes glued to her phone, giggling softly to herself as she reads something. Ethan approaches her with donuts and some blood – a treat the young vampire has come to crave in recent months.

"Thanks! How'd you know I was thinking about this?" She looks up graciously, taking a moment from her phone to relieve the boy of his errand duties. She takes a bite of the donut and finishes the blood in one go. Ethan smiles back, then takes a seat beside her.

"I'm a mind-reader," he chuckles, declining a donut she offers him because he had two earlier. "Anyways, what's up? Your eyes are practically one with the screen."

"Oh, I've started talking to someone recently," Sarah replies, mouth filled with jelly-glaze. She gulps it down with water beside her and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. "Erica introduced me to him the other day and I have to say, he's not exactly my type, but he is interesting."

Ethan's smile diminishes a little as she shows him messages exchanged between them. There's a soft _tug _in his chest as the guy flirts with Sarah, and Sarah flirts back. But all he can say is, "I see."

"Yeah," Sarah shrugs, taking back her phone and responding to a text from someone else before slipping it in her sweater pocket. "What did you think of him? I mean, based off texts. Do you think he seems trustworthy or cool or whatever?"

"Y-yeah, I guess."

"Okay, cool. What you think matters more than anything."

The bell signaling the end of lunch rings. Sarah continues to sit and so does Ethan, not wanting to move. Students move all around them in their journey to class, but Ethan decides, internally, to leave only when Sarah does. And she hasn't made a move yet.

When the initial rush fades and the two are alone, Sarah sighs.

"Not going to class?" Ethan asks. He doesn't want to be late or, god-forbid, _absent_, but he also doesn't want to leave Sarah alone. So he sits, patiently, beside her.

"Yeah, I am," she scratches the back of her neck, then stands. "Before I do though, I have something to ask."

He stands as well, accepting her offer to pull him up. When she's facing him, he raises an eyebrow.

"Do you – well, are you _sure _you think this guy is alright? Because like I said, I _trust _you."

Ethan swallows thickly, recognizing this as his chance to speak up and _tell _her. He can do it, he mentally encourages himself. The worst that can happen is she doesn't like him back. He hopes. But at the very least, he'll finally have gotten it off his chest.

"Well, if I'm being honest, _no, _I'm not sure."

Sarah shifts weight from one leg to standing straight as she eyes Ethan curiously, silently encouraging him to continue.

"I mean," he starts, blinking away the nerves that envelop him. "He seems cool and all, I guess, but you could do way better."

"I can?"

"Yeah, you definitely can. You're too good for most guys."

"Most?" She chuckles lightly, clearly enjoying this.

"I mean, honestly, _all _guys. All guys are out of your league."

"And why's that?"

She leans in ever so slightly, urging him to go on. And when she looks at him that way, innocently wide-eyed with a sliver of amusement swimming in the irises, Ethan suddenly loses the confidence he'd mustered and returns back to awkward land.

"B-because," he laughs nervously under her gaze, "you know, you're so _awesome _and _amazing _that no guys really come close to matching your energy. I-I mean, in other words, you know, they wouldn't be a good fit for you."

He cuts himself off to prevent inevitable rambling. Sarah, now sporting an amused grin, laughs softly at him. Then she asks, "Do you think I'm too good for you?"

_Yes, because I'm in love with you._

Is what he almost says. He opens his mouth to let it out, getting as far as the whole slur of _s _in yes, when a teacher approaches them with the warning, "Get to class." She doesn't leave until they begin to shuffle in that direction. Outside of Sarah's class, she turns to him before going in.

"Since you think this guy isn't right for me, I won't talk to him anymore."

Ethan's heart does miniature flips, but he remedies, "You don't have to do that! If you enjoy talking to him, don't mind me. I don't even really know the guy, you know?"

"I know," Sarah smiles warmly. "But, like I said, I trust you. So I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay."

She waves goodbye to him as she enters the classroom and disappears to the back. With a minute left until he'll officially be late and no time to spare, he quickly runs to his next class, hoping his reddened cheeks will cool down by the time he makes it.

-o-

-four-

"You called us out here _why_?" Ethan has his hands shoved in his jacket pockets, trying to absorb as much warmth as possible as chills rake through his body in the near-below freezing weather. Sarah, next to him, glares at Benny while she drinks hot chocolate she bought a few minutes earlier.

"Espere, mi amigo," Benny grins. He holds his spellbook in his hand, his middle finger caught in-between pages of the book. "I have a spell I'd like to test out."

"And you need us out in the cold weather for it?"

"Well, no. But it's a beautiful, gloomy day, so why not? Anyways! Who wants to be Benny's little test subject? You do, Ethan? Great!"

"What? I didn't even say –"

Benny unveils the page bookmarked with his finger and begins to recite the spell, motioning his finger in Ethan's direction as light glows around the fingertip. At the end, he shoots out a small orb of light that hits Ethan in the chest. Ethan momentarily stumbles but regains his composure almost instantly.

"What did you do?"

He pats his chest, arms, legs – nothing feels different, which is strange. And scary. Benny shrugs his shoulders with a smirk, then says, "Go home and get some rest buddy. Walk him home will ya, Sarah? I need to go do Benny things."

He turns on his heels and walks away, leaving Ethan and Sarah confused in an empty park close to his house. Sarah grumbles, "What a waste of time," and sips her hot chocolate. Ethan chuckles as they make their way back to his house.

"Come in for a bit," he offers Sarah as they approach his front door. "My mom will probably make something even warmer for us."

"Are you sure? I'm already babysitting Friday so I don't want to intrude."

"What? You never intrude. You're like family to us."

She smiles empathetically and accepts the offer. Stepping in, a rush of warm air greets them and they relish in it as they remove their jackets. Wafting in from the kitchen, the scent of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies meets them and, after simultaneously looking at each other, they head to the source.

"Hey, guys," Ethan's mom smiles as she pulls a tray of cookies out of the oven. "Just in time to have them fresh. And, If you want, you can take them all up to your room with Sarah. I'm thinking of baking another batch for your father, Jane and I, so let loose! But not too loose, you still have school tomorrow."

"Gotcha!"

Sarah and Ethan head upstairs with the tray, cracking the window open just enough to let a cold breeze cool the cookies. Sarah takes refuge on Ethan's bed, slipping her shoes off as she kicks her feet up and lies down. Ethan brings his computer chair close to her and sits down, swiveling in it to maintain warmth when sudden strokes of cold air reach him.

"If you're cold, put on an extra layer," Sarah laughs, reaching out from time to time to spin his chair.

"But I'm lazy," he pouts, not resisting when she continues to spin him. "Keep spinning me, though. It feels nice."

She giggles, spinning him one final time with enough force that he swirls for a long time, laughing along with her. When he comes to a slow stop, he tries to stand, but dizziness overtakes him and he falls back down in the chair, squeezing his eyes shut to clear his senses.

"Are you okay?" Sarah pats his shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing a cookie or two can't fix."

Ethan, still reeling from the dizziness, heads over to the tray. Lightly poking at a cookie, he deems it cool enough to consume. "Come grab one," he motions to Sarah, who obliges. They both collapse onto the bed with a cookie in hand, moaning contentedly at the pleasurable taste.

"Okay," Sarah licks her lips as she finishes her first cookie and reaches for another. "This is, by far, the best cookies your mother has _ever _made."

"Right?" Ethan nods furiously, opting to chew his slowly to savor the moment. "She's outdone herself, clearly."

"Honestly, Ethan, did she take a baking class for these? Because remember the last time she made cookies, how inedible they were?"

"I thought those things were alive, to be honest."

The two share a hearty laugh at the memory. Sarah moves on to her fourth cookie as Ethan finishes his second with no end to appetite in sight. He does, however, stand to close the window when it becomes too chilly. When he returns to his seat beside Sarah, sitting closer than before, he notices her shift closer to him as well.

"So," she starts slowly, turning the corners of her lips upwards in an intriguing manner, "Benny's odd spell still hasn't revealed itself?"

"Nope," Ethan responds, popping the _p. _"Strangely enough, I still feel alright. Maybe he chanted it wrong?"

"Maybe."

Sarah finishes another cookie, then mumbles something about having too much sugar, so she opts to leave it at that. Ethan laughs and says, "It can never be too much sugar," as he starts on his fourth.

"But you're _completely _sure that you're fine? If we need to, we can call his grandma –"

"Sarah, _relax_," he pats her head. "I'm fine. I promise. If, in fact, something does start to feel wonky or whatever, I'll let you know, okay?"

"Okay."

The two sit in silence for a few minutes, simply enjoying the other's presence. At some point, Sarah leans her head on Ethan's shoulder as she crosses her arms. With her so close and the pounding of his heart in his chest nearly fatal, he fears that she'll hear the rapid heartbeats. But if she does, she doesn't say a thing. Instead she closes her eyes and releases a soft sigh.

"What's up?" He asks, momentarily surprised his voice didn't crack – or stutter. When his heart beats so wildly like that, his voice almost always mimics the action. "Are you okay?"

"I'm A-Okay," she smiles as she adjusts her head on his shoulder. "You smell nice – and you're warm. Let me stay like this for a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay."

They're consumed by silence once more, with Ethan munching on a few more cookies before deciding he's had enough. With nothing else to occupy his attention with, he fiddles with his hands in his lap, wondering quietly just _why _he feels so… full today.

Sarah breathes softly on his shoulder; her long eyelashes flutter gently, rhythmically, as she sits calmly and relaxed beside him.

With all these things in mind, Ethan's heart nearly collapses. He closes his eyes and, barely above a whisper, says, "I love you."

Sarah smiles but stays quiet. Her eyes are still closed and Ethan's heart races beyond what he's sure is normal, or healthy. But suddenly, he isn't worried about her response. It's the strangest thing, and in the back of his mind, he wonders if it has something to do with the spell Benny placed on him.

"I love you, too."

Surprised, Ethan twists so that he can look down at the vampire. She finally opens her eyes and looks up at him, her smile now morphed into a full grin.

"You do?"

She nods as she places her hand over his and lightly squeezes. "I do."

Red dusts up Ethan's neck and cheeks and suddenly, the cold room is now too hot for him. He can't contain the joy that encompasses him, nor does he try to. He leans down and kisses Sarah; she kisses him back just as eagerly, a small smile forming between the two.

"Thank you," he murmurs against her lips. "I was so worried you wouldn't like me back."

Sarah's doe brown eyes blink at him confusedly. "What makes you say that?"

Leaning back away from her, Ethan holds her hands in his as she picks her head off his shoulder and looks at him. He should be really, incredibly nervous right now, he thinks. But thanks to Benny, he feels weightless.

"Like I said before, you're way out of my league. Way out of it. So, why would you ever want to be with a nerdy kid like me?"

Sarah eyes him sympathetically; she runs a hand through his hair, interlacing her fingers with the strands. Despite being undead, her hands are warm and soothing against his skin.

"Don't put yourself down like that, Ethan," she frowns. "Even though you can be nerdy, you're still the person I have the most fun with. The person I _enjoy _being around. At this moment, I can't imagine _not _being with you."

"Really?"

She nods. Sarah leans in and kisses his forehead, then his lips. Pulling back, her smile grows and it's so contagious that Ethan finds himself smiling, too. She wraps her arms around his neck and they fall back unto the bed, tangled securely and contentedly. Until the sun goes down and Ethan's parents call him for dinner, they enjoy the other's presence.

"So," Ethan opens the door and gestures for Sarah to exit first, "I guess we really have Benny to thank for this."

"You think?"

"Yeah. I'm almost ninety-nine percent certain it was a confidence spell he placed on me."

Sarah raises an eyebrow. "You shouldn't have needed a spell to confess to me."

Ethan snorts. "Have you seen me? I'm surprised the spell even worked."

Sarah laughs, which elicits a small chuckle from Ethan as well. He places a hand on the curvature of her small back as the two head into the kitchen.

"Well," Sarah slips her hand into his as they sit together at the table. "Regardless of the spell, I'm really glad it all worked out in the end."

When no one's looking, Ethan leans over and kisses her. Her hand squeezes his under the table in response.

Pulling back, he smiles warmly.

"Yeah. Me, too."

-o-

end


End file.
